Arman Tsarukyan has drawn criticism from his lightweight rival Dan Hooker after withdrawing from his UFC 311 title fight just a day's notice.
After several years of impressive wins, including a win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300, Arman Tsarukyan finally got a title shot against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311.
Unfortunately, Tsarukyan withdrew from the fight just hours before the official weigh-in due to a back injury.
Makhahev then successfully defended his title against Renato Moicano after scoring the first round submission.
After the event, UFC boss Dana White revealed that Tsarukyan will not get a title shot next and will have to fight again at least once before he gets another chance to fight for the title.
READ MORE: Arman Tsarukyan agrees with Dana White's dismissal as he names next opponent
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Arman Tsarukyan ripped by Dan Hooker after withdrawing from UFC 311
The 28-year-old's withdrawal from UFC 311 came just days after he admitted he wasn't 100% committed to MMA, leading to questions from both the UFC fanbase and other fighters.
Fans have been claiming for years that the Armenian comes from an extremely wealthy family after seeing how he lives and therefore does not have to fight for a living.
And with that, he was questioned by his fellow lightweight rival, Dan Hooker.
“How you get injured on your day off, I have no idea. I thought it was quite strange to have such a serious injury that you have to pull out when you're losing weight,” Hooker told Submission Radio.
“It must be a pretty serious injury because your world title is your absolute everything, I don't know how you could pass up that opportunity.
“I clearly saw Dana White saying he's not going to get the title shot next and he's going to have to work his way back to the title. Dad can't buy you a spine, can he?' Hooker stated.
After breaking his silence following UFC 311, Tsarukyan claimed he wants a rematch with Oliveira next because that makes the most sense to determine the next title challenger. Despite this, 'Do Bronx' is widely considered the next challenger regardless of whether he takes another fight.
'The Hangman' believes 'Ahalkalakets' will now struggle to convince opponents to fight him following his late withdrawal from UFC 311.
“I would say it's going to be pretty hard to get anyone to sign on the dotted line against Arman if he's going to do that, and I don't think the UFC will even punish anyone if he passes that on… I think he'll may have done to work its way down the list,” Hooker said.
Dan Hooker doubts Islam Makhachev will gain weight despite the discussions
Makhachev has continually flirted with the idea of moving up in weight to try and become a double champion, and after his recent win he even called out Dricus Du Plessis expressing his desire to become a three-time champion.
Despite his manager even teasing that Makhachev's next fight has already been scheduled by the UFC and has already ruled out three opponents, Hooker doesn't think he will move up in weight.
“He's not going to 170, mate. No, I don't think so, has Khabib (Nurmagomedov) ever gone up to 170? Has Khabib ever fought at 170? Like, he's talked about it for half a decade, they're going to talk about it for half a decade, but they won't do it,” Hooker claimed.
During the broadcast of UFC 311, it was announced that Hooker will fight Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 and a win for 'The Hangman' could earn him a rematch against the Russian champion.
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